Responding to this thread so I come back later to read it. All great advice and i really need to start looking at other threads in this forum

BUT responding to start times....​​
Because of my job, I have a very erratic sleep schedule. Mostly I sleep from 1am to 7am. So as long as my rides starts after 7am, I'm good.

Again this is personal and don't let anyone tell you when the perfect time to start is...BUT
Things to take into consideration on a ride that will take you all day to complete...
Are you riding into the sun in the morning and again into the evening? You will be surprised on how tiring this is.
What times are you hitting metro areas? Consider rush hours.
What time are you in rural areas? aka: Deer! or MOOSE! ( I live in a desert, so I just run over the jack rabbits and have to look out for tortoises )

 

Dr Tiki,

Good reminder in morning / evening sun. I was planning a there and back (which drives me nuts I'd rather a one direction IBA ride) up here in Canada when winter ends. The cold winter of Covid... when will that end..?

If I left at say 02:00, at 05:00 (spring/summer) I'd be hitting sunrise going east. Likewise 18:00/19:00 going west.

I try to do the dark riding first, and agree critters can be a problem.

My Missoula to Milwaukee route would have been east east east the whole run. 😉

But as the border is closed, I may try my BBG attempt up here in Canada.

Ride safe
H